78 SECRETS OF ANIMAL LIFE 
The particular whale we have discussed is prob- 
ably not specifically distinguishable from the Black 
Right Whale of the South Atlantic, but it is quite 
different from the Greenland Whale or Bowhead, 
Balena mysticetus, which used to be the object of 
the eager quest pursued by the whaling vessels 
that went north from Dundee, Aberdeen, Peter- 
head, and similar ports. But that is a story of the 
past, for the Greenland Whale is now a rarity. In 
the fascinating whale-room of the British Museum 
we have seen the enormous lower jaws of one of 
the largest of these magnificent creatures, which was 
killed in 1887. It yielded 26 tons of oil and 26 cwt. 
of whalebone. This Greenland Whale is entirely 
Arctic; it is recorded as attaining a length of 70 
feet ; its head occupies a third of the body; its black 
color is relieved by white below the jaw, and there 
are various important structural differences between 
it and its non-Arctic relative. Dr. F. E. Beddard, 
a great authority on whales, tells us that the Green- 
land Whale is “an extremely timid beast.” It has 
been remarked that “a bird alighting upon its 
back sometimes sets it off in great agitation and 
terror.” But we do well to be cautious with psy- 
chological adjectives when speaking of whales. 
For what do we know of the “terror” of this 
marine Colossus, whose brain is of a very high 
order? The timidity is probably in part a function 
of the frequency of whalers. There is unanimity, 
however, in the theoretical admiration of the 
whale’s parental solicitude. “It would do honor,” 
